Baltimore Cop Forced Off Road During High-Speed Pursuit

A Baltimore Police officer sustained non-life threatening injuries when his cruiser was forced off the road by a drug suspect during a high-speed pursuit that ended at the Anne Arundel County mall.

The pursuit, which reached speeds exceeding 100 mph, began before 11:30 a.m. Monday. A Maryland State Police trooper joined the pursuit in progress on the Baltimore Washington Parkway, after observing the officer pursuing a 1998 Honda Accord southbound on the parkway out of the city.

The driver—later identified as 22-year-old Darin L. Sympton, Jr. of Brooklyn Park—apparently attempted to ram the Baltimore police officer's patrol car just south of I-195. The officer took evasive action and crashed into a median, according to a state police release.

Sympton took the exit to the Arundal Hills Mall, striking several civilian vehicles before entering the mall parking lot. He bailed out near the movie theaters, and ran into the mall.

The trooper continued to pursue Sympton on foot through the mall, as Sympton threw multiple items at the trooper. He was eventually arrested inside a clothing store.

More than a dozen caplets of heroin and several bags of marijuana were recovered from the Honda Accord. Sympton has been charged with possession with intent to distribute both heroin and marijuana, possession of heroin and marijuana, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest, multiple counts of assault, driving on a suspended/revoked license, and other traffic charges.